1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a syringe, and more particularly to a combination syringe and ampoule to decrease the volume of medical garbage, and to simplify conventional vaccination procedures.
2. Description of Related Art
A conventional syringe is hollow and has to be filled with a vaccine etc so that a patient can be treated. The vaccine has to be kept in a sealed vessel such as an ampoule, so the purity of the vaccine can be maintained. One type of commonly used ampoule is shown in FIG. 5, and has a main body, a top and a neck extending between the neck and the top. To access the vaccine, the ampoule is broken at the neck and a needle of the syringe is inserted into the vaccine and then the vaccine is extracted from the ampoule by a plunger of the syringe being pulled back. However, this operation has at least two disadvantages which are as follow:
1. There are several steps in accessing the vaccine and treating the patient, which are at best inconvenient, and at worst, dangerous. For example, the breaking of the neck of the ampoule may lead to cutting a medic which is bad enough in itself, but with the possibility of transmissible diseases through exposure to blood, the result could be fatal. Then, the extraction of the vaccine etc from the ampoule is prone to spillage and even contamination.
2. The costs in use of equipment and to the environment are very high. The volume of the garbage is large because the ampoule and the syringe are both discarded. Furthermore, the health authority has to face high costs in the correct disposal of medical waste, and if that waste has an unnecessarily high volume due to so many used ampoules, then the costs will be accordingly high.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the disadvantages of the conventional syringe.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a syringe includes a hollow barrel pre-filled with medicine. A piston is movably received in an open end of the hollow barrel and the open end of the hollow barrel is closed by a first seal adhered thereon. Another end of the hollow barrel is closed and has a stub extending out therefrom and a through hole is centrally defined in the stub. A second seal is formed on a top of the stub to close the through hole. An annular groove is defined in the closed end of the hollow barrel and surrounds the stub. Whereby, in use a needle breaks through the second seal when the needle hub is attached to the stub, a plunger is attached to the piston and in doing so the first seal is broken, and the syringe is ready for treatment of a patient. Further, the stub can be separated from the barrel and received in the hollow barrel after use, whereby the syringe is very safe for post-use handling and disposal.
Further benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after a careful reading of the detailed description with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings.